


The Newest Dallas Star

by eafay70



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Adoption, Alternate Universe - Space, M/M, mentions of family deaths, mentions of past wars
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-14
Updated: 2019-04-14
Packaged: 2020-01-13 07:27:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,449
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18464284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eafay70/pseuds/eafay70
Summary: Jamie and Tyler adopt Victor E. Green, a young alien from the planet Seteyras. Join them as he learns all about Dallas.





	The Newest Dallas Star

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for the Bennguin Fan Fest, specifically "space AU." I had a different, more dramatic idea at first, but then I thought of this instead and am very glad I did! :)
> 
> Thank you to Daeliusthebard for the beta read and to everyone on the Discord server for all the fun!!

Jamie walked into the bedroom. “You have the info?”

“Yeah.” Tyler shifted on the bed so Jamie could sit next to him. “Victor E. Green, birthday September 13. Orphaned two years ago in the war.”

“Wow.” Jamie shook his head as Tyler scrolled through the details of the agency confirming that Victor had no living relatives. “Poor little guy.”

“Ooh!” Tyler stopped scrolling. “Favorite sport: ice hockey. Favorite team: Dallas Stars.”

“Makes sense. They were the first to have a player from Seteyras.” R. Folg Yarok had been the goalie when the Stars had last won the Cup; he was now part of the training staff.

“Favorite historical player: too many to name. Favorite current player: Alexander Radulov.”

Jamie laughed. “And Rads says he’s the least popular captain in franchise history!”

Tyler laughed, too. “I think we’d be the greatest Papa and Dad ever if we introduced them.”

“Absolutely.” Jamie paused. “Wait, which of us is Papa and which of us is Dad?”

“Hm...you’re more bear-like, so you should be Papa,” Tyler said. “I’ll be Dad.”

“Jordie’s the bear-like one, not me!” Jamie scowled. “I should be Dad because that’s what I call my dad.”

“So do I,” Tyler pointed out. They both frowned. “We’ll work on that part. For now, we should go to bed.” He put the tablet on the bedside table and clapped off the lights as Jamie pulled a blanket over them. “Good night, hubby. I love you.”

“Love you, too, Ty. Good night.”

\--

The next day saw them on the planet Seteyras. First on the schedule was a quick culture course with the adoption agency. “When we meet someone, we ‘welcome them happily to our knowledge,’ meaning that we hope to have a positive relationship with them,” the speaker explained. “It’s a longer phrase than in English, so the insta-interpretation devices will work best if, instead of just the word ‘meet,’ you use the full English phrase. And with younger ones who are unfamiliar with English, we recommend you stick with Seteyras terminology whenever possible to prevent confusion.”

After about an hour of listening to tips like that, Jamie and Tyler were finally given their insta-interpretation devices and led to the courtyard, where a small alien was waiting for them. He was wearing an R. Folg Yarok uniform from a long-ago interplanetary tournament at which Seteyras had won gold; Jamie made a mental note to ask Yarok to sign it once the season started.

The young alien held out his arms in his planet’s traditional greeting. “You have come in peace and shall remain at peace!”

“That is our wish!” Tyler replied through the insta-interpretation device. “I am Tyler, offspring of Jackie and heir of Paul, protecting brother of Candace and Cassidy.” Jamie had to hold back a snicker - while Tyler was using the correct terminology per this planet’s customs, his sisters did not need protecting by any stretch of the imagination. “This is my found destiny, Jamie, offspring of Heather and heir of Randy, trailing brother of Jenny and Jordie.”

“I welcome you happily to my knowledge! I am Victor, the last survivor of my family.” Jamie couldn’t help frowning; he’d already known that Victor’s family gone, but it was something else to hear Victor say so. “Might you like sustenance? I have prepared a local specialty which resembles your...oh, dear, I no longer know the word.” He frowned and hanged his head in embarrassment. “I am so sorry to have failed to prepare my knowledge!”

“Let us try the specialty,” Jamie said softly. “I am confident the word will spring from our lips.”

Victor looked up and smiled. “Come follow me to my home!”

It was a small building. Half of it was taken up by a very large rock, which Victor rubbed with his face before producing a very large serving dish. Jamie gasped: “Poutine?!”

“Oh, my stars!” Tyler licked his lips. “It could have come from my mother’s kitchen!” (Jamie had never known Jackie to prepare poutine, but that was beside the point.)

“Please eat!” Victor handed them forks.

Jamie and Tyler dug in. It didn’t quite taste like poutine, but that made sense considering they were on a different planet with different ingredients available. “A culinary wonder!” Tyler declared. “What a happy coincidence that our cultures have produced such similar cuisine!”

“We call it fotyan, the acronym of a phrase meaning ‘the little king who laughs,’ for he was said to have invented it.” Victor ate from his own, smaller plate. “Do you eat it often?”

“No, for it is less common in the city where we live now,” Jamie said. “Poutine comes from the land of our birth. We live farther away, in a land known more for steak.”

Victor’s eyes widened, which Jamie hadn’t thought possible. “I have long dreamed of eating a steak! There is no suitable animal on this planet, but those who traveled to your planet said it was a food worthy of song!”

“We quite agree!” Tyler said with a grin. “It’s the second-best part of where we live.”

“What could be better than steak?”

“The Dallas Stars.” Jamie forced himself not to laugh as Victor balled his hands into fists and pounded on his legs, apparently trying to determine if this was real. “We work for the team in the marketing department. We don’t travel with them anymore, but we go to every home game for work.”

Victor stared in shock. “You already seemed very nice and kind, so I thought you would be good providers. But now I learn you work with the greatest ice hockey team in the universe!”

Jamie didn’t point out that the Stars hadn’t made the Interplanetary Champions League in several years, meaning they couldn’t be the greatest team in the universe. Instead, he looked over at Tyler and nodded.

“We would be very honored if you chose us as your providers,” Tyler said. “We would love to have you as our offspring.”

Victor squealed. “We must speak with the agency at once!”

And so they did.

\--

A few days later, about a week before they would reach Dallas, Jamie placed a video call. Jordie’s face filled the screen. “Hey, Chubbs!”

“Hey!” Jamie smiled. “How are you?”

“Can’t complain. Where’s your other half?”

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.” Jamie forced himself to keep smiling, even though Jordie looked worried. “It all went through. Tyler’s putting him to bed right now.”

“I’ve heard of being a monkey’s uncle, but now I’m an alien’s uncle!” Jordie chuckled. “You said ‘him,’ right? What’s his name?”

“Victor. He’s four-and-a-half Earth years old, but a bit older than that in terms of maturity according to the agency, whatever that means. He can already cook pretty well, but that’s not unusual for kids here.”

“What does he call you guys?”

“Tyler and Jamie.” He sighed. “We couldn’t decide who should be Papa and who should be Dad. We figure he might pick for us as he starts learning English.”

“We’re all going to need insta-interpretation devices, eh?” Jordie asked.

Jamie nodded. “I know they’re expensive, but the agency said they can provide a letter so you can buy them in bulk and it’s...cheaper.”

“Considering they come with free upgrades for life, they’re probably nowhere near as expensive as they could be,” Jordie shrugged. “But, yeah, send along the letter. We’ll take you guys out for lunch when you get in - where should we go?”

“Either a steakhouse or Scottish Burgers.” Jamie laughed at the confused look this prompted from Jordie. “Apparently the first generation to visit Earth from Seteyras returned to their planet praising steak with their own version of the Scottish Burgers jingle: ‘It’s just so mac-tasty, that greatest of food / Just one bite of steak will brighten your mood!’ Tyler has had the melody stuck in his head for hours.”

“So will I,” Jordie groaned. “Steakhouse it is. Will the little guy be okay meeting all of us at once?”

“Probably. We’re going to show him pictures and talk about all of you beforehand. We can always step outside or something if he needs a break. It’ll be okay.”

\--

A week later, mere hours after landing safely in Dallas, Jamie, Tyler, and Victor walked into the steakhouse where Jordie had made reservations. When they reached the reserved room, Victor yelped at the sight of all the people and ducked behind Tyler. “I can’t welcome so many of them happily to my knowledge!”

“Victor, it’s okay.” Jamie leaned down as best he could and stroked Victor’s head soothingly. “Remember when Tyler first introduced himself and me, all the names we said? That’s who’s here - our families. They want to meet you so you can be part of the family, too.”

“Exactly.” Tyler had turned around so he was facing Victor. “We showed you their pictures and we told you about them. They’re very, very excited to welcome you to our family.”

“But -”

A cough interrupted Victor. “I can’t hold this position much longer,” Jordie said. They turned around to see him on his knees, holding his arms in the traditional greeting. “You have come in peace and shall remain in peace!”

Jamie gasped; he thought he heard Tyler choke back a sob.

“That is my wish!” Victor replied. “I am Victor, and I have been practicing how to greet you according to your customs.” He paused, then tentatively waved. “Hi!”

“Hi!” Jordie replied.

Victor looked up at Jamie. “You did it right,” he confirmed.

“Then should I do the other part?”

Jamie nodded.

Victor took a deep breath. “Would you like a…” He frowned, extending his arms. “I knew the word before!”

“Want me to tell you the word?” Tyler whispered. Victor nodded. “The word is ‘hug.’”

“Okay.” Victor wiggled his arms slightly. “Would you like a hug?”

“I would love a hug,” Jordie nodded. Victor ran into his arms. “We welcome you so happily to our knowledge, Victor.”

“You’re supposed to introduce yourself before saying that,” Tyler pointed out.

“Oh.” Jordie let go of Victor. “I am Jordie, offspring of Heather and heir of Randy, trailing brother of Jenny and protecting brother of Jamie.” Each person waved when named.

Tyler’s father waved, too. “I am Paul, found destiny of Jackie, provider of Tyler, Candace, and Cassidy.” They, too, each waved when named.

“I welcome all of you happily to my knowledge,” Victor said, still sounding a little nervous.

“Let’s sit down,” Tyler suggested. After some debate, Victor wound up between Tyler and Jamie, with Jordie across from him making funny faces. “Don’t make him laugh while he’s eating, dude.”

“I won’t, Ty,” Jordie promised.

The waitress walked over with menus. “Hello! Do you need one in Seteyras?”

“Um…” Jamie shrugged. “I mean, he can read in Seteyras, but not really in English, but he should probably have a children’s menu, and since I don’t read Seteyras…”

“I can give you a children’s menu in English.”

“Thank you.”

“No problem!” She left for a moment, then returned with two more menus. “Here’s yours…” She handed Jamie a piece of paper, then knelt so she was closer to Victor’s height. “I give you a list of our specialties and some activities, along with crayons for the activities.”

Victor squealed. “You speak Seteyras!”

Everyone turned to face the waitress. It took a moment to realize that her mouth wasn’t really matching the English words they were hearing. “My provider and nurturer studied and taught Seteyras culture. When they adopted my protecting brother, they spoke to him in both his native language and theirs; when I was born, they continued to do so. Would you like to perhaps speak with them?”

“I would!” Victor looked up at Jamie and Tyler. “Would you?”

“Yes, please,” Tyler said.

The waitress reached into the pocket of her apron and gave Jamie a business card with English on one side and Seteyras on the other. “This is my parents’ contact information. We have a club for interplanetary families that meets about once a month.”

“Thank you,” Jamie said, putting the card in his wallet.

A few minutes later, the waitress came back to take their orders. When she reached Victor, he said, “I will have the grandest steak available!”

“You sure about that, buddy?” Jamie asked. “That would be a pretty big steak.”

“‘Grandest’ in this context means ‘best,’ not ‘biggest,’” the waitress explained. “It’s how you ask to try a new food for the first time.” She smiled at Victor. “The grandest steak shall be yours to sample!”

When it arrived, Victor stared in confusion at the steak knife. “How does that work?”

“Like this.” Jordie picked up his own steak knife and fork. “You put the fork in the steak, and then you cut with the knife like this.” He demonstrated by cutting off a small piece of his own steak. “Does that make sense?”

“Maybe.” Victor attempted to mimic what Jordie had done, but only succeeded in dropping his utensils to the floor. “Oh, no! I can cut other foods, but not this!”

“Not to worry! Steaks are thicker than other foods.” The waitress picked them up and gave him a new set. “Perhaps your providers are better suited for this task.”

“Okay.” Victor looked up at Jamie. “Will you please cut the steak?”

“Of course.” Jamie cut off a few small pieces. “Enjoy.”

Victor chewed the first piece carefully, then smiled brightly as he swallowed. “It is the greatest food in the history of food!”

“Then you’ve picked the right city to call your new home!” Jordie laughed.

\--

The smell of maple syrup woke Jamie up the next day. He took a moment to admire his peacefully sleeping husband before heading to the kitchen, clipping on his insta-interpretation device.

“...going to get sick of it,” Jackie was saying. “At one point I could recite most Dr. Seuss books.”

“Oh, yes,” Jamie’s mom laughed. “Maybe Victor being older means he’ll get through that stage faster.”

Jamie reached the kitchen doorway and saw the two women at the stove. Victor was sitting at the table carefully putting a napkin on an unstable tower. He looked up and beamed. “Jamie! Hi!”

“Good morning.” He walked over and hugged him, then realized something: “You’re not wearing your device.”

“Listening practice,” Jamie’s mom said. “Whenever he hears an English word he knows, he moves a napkin to the pile.”

“That’s a lot of words!” Jamie marveled. “But what if he needs to tell you something?”

Jackie pointed to the kitchen island. “Our devices are there if we absolutely need them. We haven’t for twenty minutes. Now that you’re here, we can turn them on and you can help him set the table.”

They did so. Victor pointed to the pile of napkins. “I have so much knowledge of your language, for I have listened to you and Tyler so much!”

“Cool!” Jamie led Victor to the cutlery drawer. “Let’s set the table, eh?”

“Yes!” Victor followed instructions very carefully, putting out utensils for everyone.

Tyler came in just as Jamie and Victor finished setting the table. “Good morning, everyone!”

“Tyler!” Victor smiled brightly.

“How are you, little buddy?” Tyler walked over and rubbed his head.

“Today I am very happy! I get to try pancakes!”

“Excellent!” Tyler kissed Jamie quickly. “You should have woken me up, babe.”

“I figured coffee would do the trick eventually,” Jamie chuckled.

Jackie took out her phone as Victor examined the pancakes on his plate. “This is so exciting!”

“Mom!” Tyler groaned.

Victor picked up his utensils and cut a sloppy piece, then ate it. He waved at the phone and gave two thumbs up. “Yummy!”

“Hooray!” Jackie put away the phone, and they all sat down to eat.

“Victor…” Jamie’s mom smiled kindly. “Can you tell Jamie and Tyler what Jackie and I were talking about while we were cooking?”

“I think I can.” Victor furrowed his brow in concentration. “I heard my name a lot. And Seteyras, and English...oh, and hug! I think you said something about hugs!”

“That’s right!” Jackie beamed. “We were saying that you’ve already learned how to give very good hugs. And we were wondering what you were saying to yourself in Seteyras.”

“I was wondering about breakfast,” Victor explained. “Jamie and Tyler love pancakes, so I was wondering if I would love them, too. I do!”

\--

Victor stared intently at the paper, his pencil unmoving.

“Why isn’t he doing anything?” Tyler whispered.

“No idea,” Jamie whispered back.

Tyler knelt next to Victor. “You okay, buddy?”

“It’s a very long list,” Victor sighed.

“Twenty-six letters,” Tyler nodded. “Capital and lowercase for each. It’s a lot more than the Seteyras alphabet, and that confused me when I saw it this morning at the open house.”

The open house had been at the multicultural school Victor would attend beginning in a couple weeks. They had met his teacher, a woman from Seteyras named Ms. Verde, and learned about the differences between the Seteyras alphabet and the English alphabet so they could help Victor practice writing in his new language.

“What if I can’t do it?” Victor whispered. “Will I have to leave?”

“No, of course not!” Tyler hugged him. “If you can’t do it, we’ll help you practice until you can do it.”

“That’s right.” Jamie walked over and leaned down as best he could. “You know, I got cookies from the store this morning. If you can finish the worksheet by dinner time, then we can have cookies for dessert to celebrate.” Dinner was in about four hours.

Victor looked at the paper, then nodded. “Okay.” He carefully moved his pencil in two long strokes, then a short one. “Like that?”

“Yes, that’s a capital A!” Tyler cheered.

“Great job!” Jamie grinned.

Victor managed to finish the worksheet in two hours. As promised, they had cookies for dessert; Jamie really hoped this wouldn’t turn into a habit for Victor.

\--

Two weeks later, the alarm rang out to signal the start of an important day. Tyler groaned as he turned it off. “Why?”

“Put on a happy face,” Jamie mumbled. “We want Victor to like school, remember?”

Tyler sighed dramatically. “Doesn’t seem realistic for Earth.”

“Hush.” Jamie kissed Tyler’s forehead, clipped on his device, then went into Victor’s room, where he was curled up against the wall. “Victor, buddy…” Jamie leaned down to rub his shoulder. “Time to get up.”

Victor beeped in Seteyras; Jamie recognized the word for “breakfast.” The alien sat up and smiled. With his thick accent, he said in English, “Hi, Jamie.”

“Good morning, Victor.” Jamie helped him with his device. “Do you remember what today is?”

“School,” Victor frowned. “I have to go to school with all the kids.”

“It’s going to be fine, Victor,” Jamie reassured him as he got dressed in the Dallas Stars outfit they’d purchased for this special day. “You’ll make friends.”

Victor didn’t say anything until they reached the kitchen, where he spoke again in English: “Hi, Tyler.”

“Hi!” Tyler pointed to the table. “Eat up. You’ll need lots of energy to welcome everyone happily to your knowledge!”

Victor sighed and ate his cereal. “What if the kids don’t welcome me happily to their knowledge because I still sound funny?”

“There will be other kids from Seteyras,” Jamie pointed out. “Remember when we went to the open house? There were kids from all over the universe.”

“But they all spoke really good English already!”

“You’re going to school to learn more English,” Tyler said. “You’ll catch up in no time.”

Victor shrugged, carried his dishes to the sink, and headed down the hallway. Jamie frowned. “I didn’t think he’d be this nervous.”

“Why wouldn’t he be? Most kids are nervous in new situations, and it doesn’t get much newer than this.” Tyler sighed. “I’ll make sure he’s staying on task in the bathroom.”

“Okay.” Jamie got to work cleaning up breakfast. He knew that he and Tyler had chosen the best school possible for Victor, one with a very diverse staff and student body. But it was still saddening to see Victor drag his feet behind Tyler a few minutes later.

When they reached the school, Ms. Verde immediately spotted them. “Good morning, Victor!”

“Good morning.” Victor looked up sadly at Jamie and Tyler. “You’ll be back in a few hours, right? You won’t leave me here?”

“That’s right.” Jamie gave him a hug. “We love you very much, Victor. Try your hardest to do well and make friends, okay?”

Victor nodded slightly. Tyler gave him a hug. “See you at the end of the day, buddy.”

“Bye.” Victor waved as Jamie and Tyler went to the car. He was still waving by the time they turned the corner at the end of the road.

“I’m so worried,” Tyler admitted. “I don’t think I’m going to get much work done.”

“Neither am I,” Jamie sighed.

\--

Victor was pouting when Jamie and Tyler reached the classroom that afternoon. The teacher was speaking to him in Seteyras.

“There they are!” She smiled at the men. “Good afternoon, Mr. Benn, Mr. Seguin.”

“Good afternoon, Ms. Verde.” Jamie smiled at Victor. “Hi, Victor.”

“Hi.” Victor didn’t look up.

“Bad first day?” Tyler guessed.

“I’m afraid so,” Ms. Verde sighed. “Victor is the only one in his class who wasn’t adopted as a baby, meaning he hasn’t grown up speaking English. He’s adapted well to your family, but he’s very aware of the cultural barrier with the other students.”

“What can we do?” Jamie asked.

“Keep going to the interplanetary families club so he can see the cultures interacting,” she said. “And try introducing him to people from other parts of Earth so he can see he’s not the only one with these experiences.”

Tyler nodded. “I know just the person.”

\--

It was media day for the Stars. After lots of finagling, Jamie had managed to give himself and Tyler a relatively light schedule so they wouldn’t feel too bad bringing Victor. (Nobody seemed to mind the idea of Victor coming along, but there was the possibility that he would be a distraction.)

Naturally, Victor already knew that Tyler and Jamie worked for the Stars media department, though he didn’t really understand what either of them did. However, it didn’t really sink in until they were in the arena parking lot: “This is where the Dallas Stars play!”

“It is!” Tyler laughed as they got out of the car. “And it’s where Jamie and I work.”

They entered the building and headed straight to their shared office. “Want to pretend you’re a very famous fan and we’re interviewing you?” Jamie asked.

“Okay!” Victor sat down while Jamie and Tyler set up the camera.

“This is Tyler Seguin, here with the very famous Dallas Stars fan Victor E. Green! Thank you for taking the time to talk to us!”

“You’re welcome.” Victor was speaking softly, but the microphone still caught it all.

As Tyler asked questions about why Victor loved hockey, Jamie sent a text: ‘Ready when you are.’ About a minute later, he saw a figure in the doorway and tapped Tyler’s shoulder.

“Who is your favorite player?” Tyler asked as the door opened quietly.

“Alexander Radulov!” Victor proclaimed. “He’s the fastest and the toughest and the funniest and the best! He came to Dallas from far away, like I just did!”

“Thank you!” The Russian held out his hand. “Nice to meet a fan!”

Victor turned around, yelped, and hid behind Jamie. “That’s THE Alexander Radulov!”

“It is,” Jamie said. “Don’t you want him to sign your jersey?”

Victor looked down at his 47 jersey. “I guess…”

“You can let us do the talking,” Tyler offered. Victor nodded, so Tyler guided him to the hockey player. “Rads, this is our son, Victor E. Green.”

“Hi, Victor.” He held out his hand again. “You from far away, too?”

Victor nodded and shook the offered hand silently. “He’s from Seteyras,” Jamie explained.

“Wow, way more far away than Russia!” Rads marveled. “It’s not easy to get used to Dallas, right? Makar still confused all the time.”

“Who’s Makar?” Victor asked.

“My son.” Rads took out his phone and showed Victor the homescreen, which was a picture of a little boy holding a puck. “He turning four in November.”

“I’m turning five in September.” Victor smiled at the screen. “Maybe we can be friends.”

“I talk to your papas and figure out,” Rads promised. “Makar plays soccer lots of weekends, but they have more bye weeks than NHL, so we find a time. Right now, want me to sign your jersey?”

Victor nodded. “We bought it when we came here. I wear it most days to school.”

“Very nice!” Rads took out a Sharpie from his pocket and wrote on the shirt before signing it. “I wrote in Russian, ‘To Victor E. Green from Seteyras.’”

“Thank you!” Victor squealed. He looked the happiest he’d been in at least a month, so Jamie gave Tyler a triumphant high-five.

\--

It was September 13. Jamie poked his head in Victor’s room. “He’s asleep,” he whispered to Tyler.

“Good.” They hurried to the kitchen, where Jamie started breakfast and Tyler arranged the presents and cards. “I hope he likes all this.”

“Of course he will.” Jamie put everything on the table. “Let’s go.”

They went to Victor’s room. Tyler leaned down to rub his shoulders. “Oh, Victor…”

The little alien blinked awake. “Good morning!” he said, accent thick with sleep.

“On this day, you came to be / And we’re very glad you did / We say happy, happy birthday / To our very special kid!”

Victor looked close to tears as he clipped on his device. “You learned the song in my language!”

“Anything for you on your special day!” Jamie hugged him. “Come on, let’s have pancakes.”

“Pancakes!” Victor ran to the kitchen, where he froze in place. “What’s all that?!”

“Those are presents,” Tyler explained. “Remember you talked about them in class? People give them to loved ones.”

“Oh! So those are cards!” Victor picked up one of them and gasped. “It’s in my language and in your language!”

“Can you read it?” Jamie asked.

“Dear Victor: Happy birthday! We hope you have a wonderful day and an even better year. Love, Jackie and Paul.” He repeated the process for the other cards, pointing to the handful of English words he recognized. “My name looks cool in English!”

“If you say so,” Tyler laughed. “Now come have your pancakes!”

\--

A few weeks later, it was the first game of the season. Jamie and Tyler had to work during games, but it didn’t usually take much brain power, so they decided to bring Victor along.

“Who’s that?” Victor asked, pointing to the figure on the ice.

“That’s Six the Steer,” Tyler said. “He’s the mascot.”

“His dance is so funny!” Victor laughed. Jamie silently handed Tyler a ten-dollar bill.

After Six’s dance routine, there was a special video to get the crowd pumped for the new season. It was really loud, even before the crowd started shouting. Victor covered his ears and whined unhappily. “I’m scared!”

“It’s okay, Victor,” Jamie whispered. “Come with us.” He and Tyler led Victor out to a side hallway; it led to the trainers’ offices, which meant it was empty right now since the trainers were at ice level with the team. “It’s quieter here, see?”

Victor uncovered his ears and blinked a few times. “It reminded me of the bad nights.”

“It reminds me of that, too.”

They all turned around and gasped. “Really?” Victor asked.

“Yes,” R. Folg Yarok said. “We had bad nights because of war on Seteyras when I was about your age, too. Even after all so much time in Dallas, I can’t stay in the room when it gets too loud.” He held out his arms. “I am R. Folg, the last survivor of my family.”

“I am Victor, the last survivor of my family…” His voice trailed off. “Well, my Seteyras family. But now I am Victor, heir of Tyler and Jamie.”

“I welcome you happily to my knowledge,” R. Folg smiled.

“I have your jersey from when you won Fat Antennae for us,” Victor said, using a nickname for the interplanetary tournament’s iconic trophy. “If I give it to my providers, will you please sign it?”

“Of course,” R. Folg promised. “And whenever you come to a game, you can spend the pregame show here with me. We can share popcorn.”

“Popcorn?!” Victor squealed as R. Folg revealed the bag he’d been holding to the side. “Is it as good as on Seteyras?”

“Only in this arena because my friend from Seteyras makes it.” He tilted the bag slightly to Victor, who waited for Tyler to nod before sampling it. “Do you agree?”

“I agree!”

\--

Many months later, it was Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Victor, who had become best friends with Makar Radulov, was watching with him and the rest of the Radulov family while Jamie and Tyler did their jobs. After a very difficult game, Rads won it!

Victor found them very quickly in the aftermath. “I don’t want to get too close because I don’t want to jinx myself,” he explained.

“Oh?” Tyler grinned and hugged the little alien. “You’re going to win it someday?”

“Yes! For Dallas!”

Jamie got in on the hug, too. “I’m looking forward to it, sweetheart.”

It wound up being a very good thing that Jordie had decided to use his vacation days to come to Dallas so he could babysit Victor while Jamie and Tyler worked overtime. Jordie was the one who answered the phone when Rads asked if Victor wanted to play with little Makar; they were still over when Jamie and Tyler finally came home.

“Victor should visit us in Russia!” Makar said in his native tongue through the device.

“We’ll see,” Jamie said. “We already have plans to visit family in Canada.”

“Come to my Cup day,” Rads suggested. “Victor might fit.”

“No!” Victor and Makar shouted.

Tyler laughed. “Victor here plans to win it for Dallas himself. Can’t risk touching it before that.”

“I’m going to play soccer instead!” Makar proclaimed. “I’ll drop the puck for Victor, and he’ll kick off for me!”

\--

“It’s beautiful,” Victor marveled as he looked out the airplane window.

“Yeah.” Tyler smiled at Jamie. “The view’s great.”

Jamie snorted. Tyler always made this joke when they went up to Victoria.

“Do I get to see Juice the dog today?” Victor asked.

“Yes, you do.” Jamie led them through the airport.

Jordie was waiting for them near baggage claim with a sign: “VICTOR E. GREEN AND FAMILY.” He waved it around and smiled as they approached. “Welcome to Victoria!”

“Hi!” Victor gave him a hug. “Where’s Juice the dog?”

“He’s at the house,” Jordie laughed. “Let’s get your bags and head on over there, eh?”

Tyler grabbed the large suitcase he and Jamie were sharing, while Jamie grabbed the smaller suitcase belonging to Victor. “I’m still surprised he’s so excited to see the dog,” he whispered.

“Well, they don’t have many pets on Seteyras,” Jamie pointed out, also whispering. “If things go smoothly with the two of them, maybe we can think about a dog for him.”

Tyler’s eyes widened. “Really?!”

“Don’t get excited yet.”

They all walked out to Jordie’s car and got in: Tyler sat in the back alongside Victor, while Jamie took shotgun per Jordie’s request. As they exited the parking lot, Jordie quietly asked, “Has Victor ever been around a dog before?”

“No,” Jamie replied quietly. “They read a book about pets in his class, and Victor fell in love with the idea of a dog. Tyler encouraged it.”

“Of course he did,” Jordie laughed. “Well, Juice is pretty good with kids. He’ll be a good first dog for Victor to meet.”

Jordie was proven right as soon as they stepped inside the house. Juice bounded up to them, barking happily. Victor squealed with joy, his eyes going wide. “Hi, Juice!”

Juice licked Victor a few times before rolling over so Victor could pet him. After a minute or so, Juice led Victor to his toys, and they spent the rest of the day playing together.

“Fine,” Jamie conceded while he and Tyler were helping make dinner. “We’ll think about getting a dog.”

“Or two or three!” Tyler suggested happily.

“One at a time,” Jamie laughed. He looked over at his son, who appeared to be telling Juice about the Stanley Cup parade, and felt his heart swell up with enough love to reach Seteyras and back several times.

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback is always appreciated! :) If something is confusing, let me know and I'll explain it further. Or, if there's something you'd like to see explored further, let me know and I just might write a companion piece!


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